President Obama To Announce Withdrawal Of 34,000 Troops From Afghanistan

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During his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, President Obama will announce that more than half of the 66,000 troops still stationed in Afghanistan will be home by this time next year, according to an administration official.

The war in Afghanistan is the longest in American history. Obama campaigned in 2008 on shifting the focus from the Iraq War to Afghanistan — all U.S. troops are now out of Iraq.

The 34,000 troops will be phased out of the country, with many staying through the “fighting season,” which ends in September and October.

The plan calls for Afghan troops to take over the responsibility for their country’s security in 2014, without shifting that responsibility too quickly.

By 2016, only a small residual force of a few thousand troops or more is likely to stay in the country, focused exclusively on hunting down terrorists, though the administration introduced the option of no troops remaining in the country last December.

President Obama began discussing the accelerated withdrawal with Afghanistan’s president Hamid Karzai last month, when the two met at the White House.

However, 62 percent said that the war in Afghanistan against the Taliban and al Qaeda was at least “somewhat successful,” up from 46 percent in 2009. The death of Osama bin Laden in 2011 probably has more to do with that shift in popular opinion than the “surge,” which has not succeeded in removing the threat of the Taliban regaining control of large portions of the country.

We should have left Afghanistan as soon as we accomplished our original objectives: destroy the Al Qaeda training camps. Regime change should not have been part of the agenda, and remaining there 12 long years was definitely unnecessary. We have the capabilities needed to identify the whereabouts of Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters, and the means to destroy their camps, regardless of where they are located.
We must stop imposing our will on others, trying to change the values, traditions and aspirations of people who despise our culture and oppose our presence.
Our focus must be on improving our standard of living, strengthening our economy, lowering unemployment, education, and improving our ability to compete. The money we wasted in Iraq and Afghanistan should have been spent right here at home, where it is desperately needed.

Mikey7a

Hey Dom, you always seem to say exactly what I’m thinking. Of course I’m nowhere near as articulate, but you certainly have your finger on the pulse of our great nation my friend. Wish you would run for Senator in Florida!

lana ward

The terrorists know we are leaving, smart move Omusim!!!

Mikey7a

You are the craziest, least informed, troll on here Lana! Honestly, I don’t even think you’re a real person. I think you’re one of Obozo’s or MontanaBill’s aliases. lmfao!

http://www.facebook.com/dominick.vila.1 Dominick Vila

Lana, none of the Al Qaeda terrorists that participated in the 9/11/01 tragedy were from Afghanistan or Iraq. Most were members of the Saudia Arabia Wahabbist Sect, one was from Egypt, one from Yemen and one from the United Arab Emirates. The invasion of Afghanistan was unnecessary. We could have destroyed the low level Al Qaeda training camps in that country with drones or aerial bombing, and we should not be in the business of regime change, particularly in countries that are not a threat to us.
If you think we should have retaliated against the 9/11 terrorists – I do – why don’t you ask George W. Bush why he let Saudi Arabia off the hook, and instead of doing something in the homeland of the terrorists that attacked us, and the homeland of the AQ financiers, he declared a Most Favored Nation for trade purposes. W made Judas look like a chump.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002098039422 Bill Leathen

Who picks the picture to post? Could they have found one with the president smiling and looking at Karzai? If this is the best The National Memo can do, then don’t post any picture at all. Obama looks completely demoralized.

greghilbert

Obama is announcing the prolongation of what is already the longest war in our history.

http://www.facebook.com/bobby.upchurch.50 Bobby Upchurch

Yes I think guns should be banned cause there are to many hate groups out there willing to
kill peoples